Whether you are an instructor of record (team leader) or a teaching assistant (TA), these 5 steps will help you create and sustain effective instructional teams in a way that enhances student learning and increases your efficiency.
1. Plan an Orientation Meeting 2. Plan Regular Meetings 3. “Specialize” Team Members 4. Provide Feedback to TAs 5. Support and Empower One Another
1. Plan an Orientation Meeting
An orientation meeting provides an opportunity for the team to get acquainted, review the course learning outcomes, and clarify the expectations of everyone involved in the learning process. To function effectively, the team must understand and agree on the course’s learning outcomes and instructional vision. An orientation meeting also allows the team to examine the syllabus, focusing on policies (grading, conduct, etc.) everyone needs to know and plan for labor-intensive teaching or grading weeks.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Suggested Agenda Items
- Introductions
- Brief overview of the course
- Course learning outcomes (what students will learn or be able to do)
- Instructional vision (how learning should happen: pedagogy)
- Syllabus review
- Mutual expectations (document this conversation and distribute it to the entire team)
- Course leader’s approach to collaboration and management (the orientation meeting is the ideal setting for the team leader to share their style and preferences)
- Weekly meeting days/times/location
- 1:1 meetings (decide if and how often the team leader will meet with each TA individually)
Suggested Course Materials to Share
- Canvas course access (if TAs have not been automatically enrolled)
- Syllabus
- A calendar indicating key dates (e.g., grading papers, due dates, exam dates, exam preparation, etc.) so everyone can reserve time during the semester’s particularly heavy teaching/grading times.
- Textbook(s), course packet, or bibliography of course materials and directions on where to access them
- Confirm TAs can view the class roster in Faculty Center
Next Steps
- Start a draft of the agenda for your team’s orientation meeting. Use any of the items suggested above and add anything important to your team and the course you participate in.
- Consider what expectations you have of others in your instructional team. For example, if you are a TA, what do you need from your instructor leader to do your job more effectively? If you are the instructor leader, what expectations do you have of your TA(s)?
- Determine what course materials the team should review at the orientation meeting.
2. Plan Regular Meetings
Regular meetings establish a rhythm of organization, accountability, and reflection for the instructional team. Some instructors hold weekly meetings, while others hold meetings in a different cadence— (every other week, etc.) In addition to discussing course processes, regular meetings provide opportunities for the team to revisit the instructional vision for the course and to reflect not only on “what” is to be taught but also “how” and “why.”
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Suggested Standing Agenda Items
- Check-in
- How is teaching going?
- What are our perceptions of student learning?
- Highlights/lowlights?
- Course administration
- Rubric review [ensure everyone understands how it works]
- Grading updates [how is it going? Time management, etc.]
- Assignment updates [what’s next? Plan for crunch time.]
- Student updates [any “aha!” moments with or from students? Any classroom management concerns?]
- Learning outcomes for an upcoming session
- Activities for achieving learning outcomes
Next Steps
Start a draft of the agenda for regular meetings. Use any of the items suggested above and add others that are important to your team and the course.
3. “Specialize” Team Members
Can you anticipate ways to distribute the course duties among the team and “specialize” each instructional member for the entire semester or a portion of it? For example, the instructor prepares and delivers all large-group lectures; TA1 prepares and functions clickers during large-group sessions; TA2 is responsible for prep and distributing printed materials; TA3 and TA4 are responsible for monitoring learning during group activities. This strategy ensures everyone knows what to do and enables each team member to anticipate needs and focus on meeting them proactively. Other specializations, particularly for TAs, may include McBurney student liaison, Learn@UW liaison, or Canvas course liaison (the person posts news items, for example), etc.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Next Steps
This chart may help you plan effective specialization:
| Area | List the job duties entailed in this area | How many TAs are needed? Is there background knowledge that would help TAs? |
|---|---|---|
| Example:
Clickers |
Example:
Set up and test slides with questions Operate the system during lectures |
Example:
1 TA, preferably tech-savvy with some knowledge of response systems |
4. Provide Feedback to TAs
This is mainly the responsibility of team leaders. If possible, each TA should be observed at least once throughout the course to receive feedback on their development as teachers. If time allows, team leaders should plan to meet with the TA on the day before the observation to discuss how the section is going, what the TA would like feedback on, what he or she will be teaching on that day, and how. After the observation, team leaders should debrief with the TA as soon as possible, formulating at least one area to develop further and discussing specific ways. Most TAs will need a letter of recommendation; team leaders can write a more robust letter after conducting observations.
Points to consider before implementing this step:
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
For Team Leaders
- Ensure that “observations” are included in the orientation agenda and give TAs advance notice of the observation date. Avoid surprise visits!
- Observations can make all of us anxious. Convey to TAs that the process is meant to provide constructive feedback and help them improve their teaching.
- Be open with TAs about your own experiences with observations – share successes and how the process has helped you improve in the past.
- Plan to document your feedback and share it formally with your TA.
For Teaching Assistants
- Practice ongoing reflection on your teaching. Before the observation, identify one or two areas where you would like specific feedback and share them with your team leader in preparation for the observation. For example, if you wonder whether or not your questions to students are clear, ask your team leader to pay special attention to question clarity during the observation; if you want feedback on the level of engagement you are having with your students, ask your team leader to focus on interactivity during the observation.
- If course logistics and/or team leader availability make it impractical to conduct observations, consider video-recording one of your sessions and asking your team leader to watch it later and provide you with feedback.
- Alternatively, consider asking a fellow TA or graduate student to conduct a peer observation of your teaching.
Next Steps
Team Leaders: Draft your strategy
Teaching Assistants: Share your plan to be an active participant in the observation process
5. Support and Empower One Another
Instructors and TAs make up the course instructional team. The team’s leader is responsible for providing support by responding to course-related TA needs. TAs should make requests or ask questions to help them do their job more efficiently and effectively. Leaders may remind TAs (and students) that TAs are a critical part of the instructional team, are supported in their decisions, and have autonomy and authority to lead specific parts of the course. Every member of the instructional team should convey a consistent message of expectations. Finally, team members should all become aware of campus resources for teaching, including graduate student teaching, that everyone can access when the leader or other TAs cannot help.
This is an accordion element with a series of buttons that open and close related content panels.
Questions to Consider
- Does the syllabus explain the role of TAs in the course and the expectations for student-with-TA interactions?
- Has the team allotted time for introducing TAs to students on the first day of class?
- Is everyone on the instructional team clear about expectations? Do TAs know what the team leader needs from them? Does the team leader know what TAs need from him/her and the support he/she is ready to offer?
- Do TAs know how to contact the team leader when needed (in person, by email, or by phone)?
- Is the instructional team aware of available resources (tutoring for students and instructional resources for faculty/staff)?
Next Steps
Team Leaders: Consider how you plan to support and empower your team. What do you need to feel supported and empowered?
Teaching Assistants: Consider how you can be an engaged and supportive team member. What do you need to feel supported and empowered?
This guide is adapted from Castro, Chris; Schmid, Megan; Pesavento, Theresa; Higgins, Jenny. (2016). Creating Instructional Teams. UW–Madison Teaching & Learning Symposium, Madison, WI, United States.